Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The mother of invention is more than just necessity, it is foresight, it is the demand of the mind to explore, to pursue, to go beyond the private individual and to open up the experience of the many voices that reside, often unheard, in our minds.
What is woman in the 21st Century, this portrait of the indispensable and crucial, the important factor of humanity’s survival, the truth of empathy, and the fierce drive in which we should, and will embrace when we truly understand that damnation and the worst traits of masculinity go hand in hand? This Portrait Of A Woman is one made up a thousand truths and a thousand more interpretations, and each one is fundamental, each one reveals more secrets and furies, of opportunity, of measured love and unconditional drive, and by such allusion is where artists such as Mean Mary come in and further the discussion, lead the narrative, of just how the portrait is not one to hang on a wall, but to inspire and move all to follow.
Portrait Of A Woman (Part 1), (Part 2 is pencilled in for the autumn of next year), is a tremendously insightful album which sets its sights upon revealing creation, establishing more than just a design configured to appease the senses, it is an album not just willing to confront, but lead the provocation and defy convention, and as each track asks a different question of the listener, so the response is such of investigation, of power rising, of female guidance leading the way forward.
Tracks such as Cranberry Gown, Merry Eyes, Big Tour Bus, the excellent A Kiss Can Hide Two Faces, Only Time To Pray, Bette, Come Back, and the finale of Clouds Roll By all force the issue, and whilst the fun is to be heard as the listener explores, so to does the rationale that a portrait is more than just a representation on canvas, it is a single moment of study which takes a life time, to appreciate takes seconds, to truly understand and fight for the same course of action requires in depth examination and the letting go of ego. Anybody can be a collector of art, but to love it you must give yourself to its message unconditionally.
A tremendously passionate recording by Mean Mary, full of description, meaning and allusion, an in-depth portrayal of exposed feelings and grace. Portrait Of A Woman (Part 1) is life, and may it always continue.
Mean Mary releases Portrait Of A Woman (Part 1) on July 22nd via Woodrock Records.
Ian D. Hall